2021 Season Preview: Chapman Panthers

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Following a loss to Daniel in the second round of last year’s 3A playoffs, there’s a lot of curiosity around how Chapman will bounce back in 2022.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Well, there are teams who are loaded offensively, then there’s this season’s edition of the Panthers.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Harry Cabaniss’ squad returns eight offensive players listed in Prep Redzone’s 2022 class rankings, including four skill players ranked in the top 25 at their position, and four offensive linemen all ranked in the position’s Top 40.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="153248" first="Drew" last="Settle"] will lead the way at quarterback, coming off a season that saw him throw for more than 1,600 yard and 18 touchdowns. Settle is ranked as the 15th-best senior quarterback, and 150th overall. He’ll have plenty of speed on the outside, with seniors [player_tooltip player_id="153242" first="Walt" last="Waddell"] (ranked No. 94), D.J. Black (ranked No. 169), and [player_tooltip player_id="153247" first="Tim" last="McClurkin"] (ranked No. 186) all returning from a team that put up 44 points per game last season.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Panthers’ other ranked returners are all up front, in four of the five spots on the offensive line. [player_tooltip player_id="153251" first="Sam" last="Maloa"], [player_tooltip player_id="153250" first="Nick" last="Cox"], [player_tooltip player_id="153831" first="Dylan" last="Moody"], and [player_tooltip player_id="153252" first="Dylan" last="Fortner"] are ranked in the 22nd, 35th, 36th, and 37th spots, respectively.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Derek Miller</strong> was pressed into action as the team’s running back midway through the year following an injury, and responded with a fantastic season. He’ll return in the backfield, while <strong>Jaquel Pearson</strong> returns on the offensive line.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Panthers also boast a ranked specialist, as kicker [player_tooltip player_id="153249" first="Ricky" last="Montalvo"] is the fifth-ranked kicker in the state. He was the Region 3-AAA Special Teams Player of the Year, connecting on all four of his FG attempts with a long of 45, 39-for-41 on extra points, and 29 touchbacks among his 50 kickoffs. As a punter, he averaged 33.9 yards with a long of 56.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Defensively, Chapman will have to replace its top three defensive players with the departure of [player_tooltip player_id="59323" first="Camden" last="Gray"], [player_tooltip player_id="59369" first="Andrew" last="Colasurdo"], and Gabe Watson. However, they’ve got a ranked returner in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="146361" first="Abraham" last="Fyffe"]</strong>, the 51st-ranked player and No. 7 defensive lineman in the 2023 class. They also return <strong>Lance Holden</strong> and <strong>Levi Smith</strong> on the defensive line, along with McClurkin, <strong>Andrew Melton</strong>, and <strong>Devin Roe</strong> in the secondary.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Chapman adds a trio of highly-regarded newcomers in receiver <strong>Shawn Cunningham,</strong> defensive back <strong>Nigel Pate</strong>, and athlete <strong>Coleman Gray.</strong></span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite the loss of some outstanding players, Cabaniss is optimistic.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">“We need to improve our depth, but we’re very excited to see this group of seniors,” he said. “We also have a large class who all played as juniors. We’re excited to watch them play.”</span>